1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium mounting apparatus into which a recording medium such as a removable hard disk is loaded, and more specifically, to a recording medium mounting apparatus comprising an auto-loading mechanism.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, while networks which are rapidly spreading are made broadband, the cost of high-performance personal computers (PCs) is reduced, digital still cameras and digital video cameras are permeated into homes, and broadcasts are digitalized, information including videos, music, and pictures are being digitalized in our neighborhood. Further, information processing equipments, such as televisions and telephones, which can be connected to personal computers and Internets on television screens also have entered a new phase which goes beyond conventional categories.
Up to now, 3.5-inch-type fixed hard disk drives are used as recording media for recording a high capacity of information in a field of audio/video (AV) equipments. However, the above-mentioned fixed hard disk drives cannot cope with a large increase in capacity that is being rapidly progressed.
Meanwhile, a removable hard disk drive of 2.5-inch type or 1.8-inch type has been developed by the aid of recent high-density techniques.
In such a removable hard disk, a drive mechanism for causing rotation of a disk and a magnetic head for performing recording and reproducing are built inside the removable hard disk. Thus, the delivery of signals between the removable hard disk and external equipment (recording medium mounting apparatus) having the removable hard disk loaded thereinto is generally performed only via connectors.
Accordingly, when the removable hard disk is mounted on the recording medium mounting apparatus, a connector at the removable hard disk is required to be mounted on a connector at the recording medium mounting apparatus. Further, when the removable hard disk is removed, the connector at the removable hard disk is required to be separated from the connector at the recording medium mounting apparatus. Such a technique is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 4-47554, etc.
However, according to the disclosure in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 4-47554, there is a problem in that a user is burdened with inconvenience in use that a user should manually mount a connector at a recording medium, such as a removable hard disk, on a connector at a recording medium mounting apparatus.
Further, since the entire recording medium cannot be accommodated into the apparatus due to the manual insertion, a part of the recording medium is apt to protrude to the outside of the apparatus. For this reason, if an external force is applied to a part of the recording medium, there is a problem in that data errors or data destruction is caused.
Moreover, if a recording medium is loaded in an abnormal orientation, it is necessary to prevent the recording medium from being carried into the inside of the apparatus.
In addition, in case a loading mechanism for automatically carrying a recording medium is taken into consideration, it is necessary to consider simple construction and miniaturization, and it is also necessary to reliably establish a connection between a connector of a recording medium and a connector of a mounting apparatus.